Trolls
A trolls are a race of supernatural creatures from Scandinavia. From small goblin-like creatures to the true giants, there are many different types of trolls all over the Nordic countries that come in all shapes and sizes. All different trolls also come with their own unique environments in the wilderness, from underground in hills, caves or mounds to the to the gloomy forests and the rockiest mountains. Description Trolls come in different shapes and sizes. Some have multiple heads, some may have tails, some trolls can be small as dwarfs, and some can be a giants as tall as a tree, or even mountain. Some them can as intelligent as human, some are just dumb or outright animalistic in behavior However, two most famous groups are the mountain trolls and forest trolls. Mountain trolls and their subspecies, the cave troll, usually have thick rock-like skin that gives them some protection. Common mountain trolls are very ogre-like by nature and very stupid. There are however few that are smart enought to use spells. The largest type of troll is the mountain troll called 'jotnar', that can grow to 50–100 metres tall. These giants dwell in the glaciers of the Nordic countries. Elephant-sized cave trolls live deep inside the mountains or underground, avoiding the sun. There are rock trolls, on whose body the moss and sometimes even seedlings have begun to grow over the years. They stay in the shade during the daylight, pretending to be large stones. You can find them both in the mountain- and the woodlands, if you have a keen eye. Forest trolls are much more diverse when it comes to appearance. The smallest of them are small goblin-like creatures with magical powers that they can use to prank humans. Some subspecies, like hulder or dannish troll are very human-like in appearance and behavior, with the exception of having a tail. But there are true monsters even among them. A good example is Norwegian 'tusseladd', a multi headed troll. This troll is not born multi-headed but grows a new extra head the older it lives. Only the middle of the head has the brain and the other heads are meant to intimidate the rival trolls and impress females. Also, having a one eye or moss-like fur is not unheard of among the forest trolls. Tree trolls have a barks-like skin and branch-like growths growing on their bodies. If it senses that there are humans nearby, it freeze to its place and pretends to be a tree. Behavior Opinion varied as to whether or not the trolls were thoroughly bad or not, but often they treated people as they were treated. Trolls could cause great harm if vindictive or playful, though, and regardless of other things they were always heathen. Trolls were also great thieves, and liked to steal from the food that the farmers had stored. They could enter the homes invisibly during feasts and eat from the plates so that there was not enough food, or spoil the making of beer and bread so that it failed or did not end up plentiful enough. Some, especially largest trolls are known to like the taste of the human flesh. The trolls sometimes abducted people to live as slaves or at least prisoners among them. These poor souls were known as bergtagna ("those taken to/by the mountain"), which also is the Scandinavian word for having been spirited away. To be bergtagen does not only refer to the disappearance of the person, but also that upon returning, he or she has been struck with insanity or apathy caused by the trolls. Anyone could be taken by the trolls, even cattle, but at the greatest risk were women who had given birth but not yet been taken back to the church. Powers/Weaknesses More often than not, though, the trolls kept themselves invisible, and then they could travel on the winds, such as the wind-troll Ysätters-Kajsa, or sneak into human homes. Sometimes you could only hear them speak, shout and make noise, or the sound of their cattle. Similarly, if you were out in the forest and smelled food cooking, you knew you were near a troll dwelling. The trolls were also great shapeshifters, taking shapes of objects like fallen logs or animals like cats and dogs. A fairly frequent notion is that the trolls liked to appear as rolling balls of yarn. Some, majorly Norwegian trolls, have a special ability to smell Christian blood. Many trolls hate Christians, attacking and eating any they come across. The reason for this behavior is believed to symbolize their mythology itself that once reigned supreme in the northlands. However, once Christianity entered, starting to spread its own texts, trolls could no longer live among humans. Once peaceful co-existence now utterly ruined. Grudgeful trolls now see Christian as invaders that are forcing them to live in the wilderness. A threat to their existence. However, they usually do not invade villages these days because the sound of church bells scares them away, perhaps reminding them of Thor's thunder. They are scared because they were hunted by Thor, one of the last remnants of the old Norse mythology, who threw Mjolnir, his hammer, causing lightning bolts to kill them. Though Mjolnir was supposed to return to Thor after throwing, these hammers could later be found in the earth (actually Stone Age axes) and be used as protective talismans. In Scandinavian fairy tales trolls sometimes turn to stone if exposed to sunlight. Some have attributed this aspect of the myth with pareidolia found in naturally eroded rock outcrops. Places Like many other species in Scandinavian folklore, they were said to reside in underground complexes, accessible from underneath large boulders in the forests or in the mountains. These boulders could be raised upon pillars of gold. In some Norwegian accounts, such as the middle age ballade Åsmund Frægdegjevar, the trolls live in a far northern land called Trollebotten – the concept and location of which seems to coincide with the Old Norse Jötunheimr. There are many places in Scandinavia that are named after trolls, such as the Sweden|Swedish town Trollhättan (Troll's bonnet) and the legendary mountain Trollkyrka (Troll church). External links *Trolls from DC Wikia *Trolls from Marvel Wikia *Trolls from Monster Wikia *Trolls from Mythology Wikia *Trolls from Disney Wikia Category:Supernatural Category:Fairies Category:Creatures Category:Trolls Category:Fairy tales